I was passing by a blog one day. I won’t mention any names because I don’t want to embarrass anybody. The blog in question had a nice article about something or another. Don’t remember off the top of my head. But then I checked out the keywords and the product being pitched at the end, and nothing matched. It was as if somebody has spun this blog. Now I know you can’t spin blogs, though I know you can scrape content, but in this case, scraping wasn’t the culprit. No, this person literally had no concept of matching content to keywords to product.

Here’s another example. I see this a lot. There are certain advertising mediums that only work well when targeting the make money niche, such as Ezines or lists built solely for people looking to make money online. I happen to belong to one of those Ezines. Well, the owner likes to send out paid ads. In other words, these are ads that his subscribers pay for to send to the rest of his list. This is a great concept and I even take advantage of it myself. Well, one day, an ad came through that had nothing to do with making money online. It was some kind of health issue that was very specific. Few people would have it, if any at all. What was this person thinking sending such an ad to a make money online list?

I could keep going with the examples but I think you get the point. People, you can’t just toss a coin up in the air and wherever it lands, that’s what you do. You need to think out your marketing strategies. Who is your target market? Where can you find them? Are they a hungry market with money to spend on a solution? Are there other products already out there that are cheaper and better than yours? Is your ad worded in such a way that it will compel people to buy?

This is why people jump from one thing to the next. They have no success, mostly because they can’t put that Ouija Board away so they figure it must be the niche and the market or maybe even the product, so they abandon it and try something else, where a simple, well thought out marketing plan would probably solve all their problems.

Anyway, you can keep playing with your Ouija Board if you want.

Me? I’m going to stick with what works… good old common sense and planning.

1. iThoughts. A mind mapping application to plan your workflows and business models. I’m currently using iThoughts but also give MindNode a look.

2. Shortcut to Google Keyword tool to help you select a niche and populate your pages with appropriate keywords so they can be found when people search for them.

3. DomainScout. A domain name search tool so you can check the availability of your preferred domain names. The thing I like about DomainScout is, as you discover various names you like you can add them to a favorites list. As names pop into your head during the day you can check their availability and add them to an ongoing list.

4. Go Daddy. Once you have found your domain name of choice you will need to buy it from a company such as Go Daddy. Yep there’s an app for that.

5. A shortcut to a hosting company such as HostGator will allow you to host and control your website via Cpanel, all via your iPhone or Touch.

6. WordPress for iPhone will allow you to add to and edit your WordPress Blog. Prefer TypePad? Well you may want to look at the TypePad app.

7. A shortcut to ClickBank. Search for products to promote and check your sales on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You may also want to look at the CB Stats app.

8. TweetDeck is great, not just for checking and posting tweets but it also allows you to search and connect with people talking about things related to your niche.

9. Facebook app allows you to interact with your Facebook contacts and post happenings for all to see.

10. Analytics Agent. Having a good Google analytics app on your iPhone or iPod Touch will help you keep track of how well you are doing online as well as giving you an insight into what your potential customers are looking for. Analytics Agent has a nice interface and is easy to use but you may also want to take a look at Analytics App.

11. The PayPal App. Keep tabs on your ingoing and outgoing payments with the PayPal App. You may also want to look at Pay Mobile.

12. Documents To Go. A text editor so you can write articles or blog posts whilst away from the office. I’m still looking for a solution that enables me to edit the same documents regardless of whether im on the desktop machine or iPod. Many text editing App’s claim to sync with Google Doc’s but the ones I have looked at don’t really sync, they just allow me to upload and download documents. The best solution I have found to date is Documents To Go, and its desktop syncing app. With this you can make a change to a document on your iPhone and sync. When you open it on your desktop machine it will be updated. It works equally well going from desktop to iPhone as well.

13. iTimeZone allows you to see what time it will be in your location at a certain time in a different part of the world. This is very useful for making sure you don’t miss webinars and teleseminars by your favorite overseas marketing mentors.

14. Shortcut to Online Success Coach. I like to have a shortcut to the web page of my current online marketing training course or tutor. I am currently with the Online Success Incubator which is part of TechTamers. After many months of looking for the right assistance I chose the Online Success Incubator because of its extensive archive of information, Step by step guidance through the whole marketing experience, affordability and general no hype approach. If you’re looking for help getting started in Online Marketing I would recommend Online Success Incubator.

15. Briefcase. Online marketing is a continuos learning experience and you will find that you will accumulate a quantity of training courses, eBooks, tutorials, videos and audio. Its very useful to be able to get this info onto your iPhone so you can learn whilst away from your computer. There is a large collection of apps available to help you do this but I rather like Briefcase. Briefcase allows you to easily browse all of the files on your computer and pick out the ones you would like transferred to your device. It also allows you to view or play back most media types.

16. Instapaper. There will often be times when you will come across articles and web pages online that you would like to read but don’t have the time. Instapaper allows you to easily mark any webpage to be read later. Your iPhone will then sync with your instapaper account and download the articles to your device allowing you to read them at any time, on or off line.

17. What Tasks. One way to ensure progress is to keep a short daily to do list. What Tasks is currently my favorite allowing me to manually arrange the order of to do items and keep multiple lists so I can create long term as well as daily lists of goals. It is also nice and easy to use unlike many full blown get things done app’s.

18. Fenix Notes. Its always useful to have a quick and easy note taking system. I have taken a liking to Fenix Notes largely because I can open it and take a note very quickly.

19. Safari. Where would an internet marketer be without a web browser…

20. Or email for that matter.

In case you are wondering how to get shortcut links to websites onto your iphone or iPod Touch this is how you do it. Use Safari on your device to find the webpage you would like to save a link to. Tap the + (plus) icon in the menu bat at the bottom of the screen. Select the Add to Home Screen button.

Successful marketers know to well the power of socializing online and the old school marketers are now using these networks to grow their business and income as well. It is more important than ever to brand yourself because regardless of what you are promoting and selling people want to know who they are buying from.

Here are 4 simple tips to succeed at Internet marketing through social networking:

1. Begin COMMUNICATING with customers and prospects so they can get to know you. Hiding behind your computer screen will not cut it anymore. Simply join the more popular networks and start making contact with people who can help your business grow and whose businesses you can help grow.

2. Provide QUALITY CONTENT so you can attract more people to your business and with the progression of technology there is very little you CANNOT do to get your content seen by hundreds, thousands if not millions of people.

3. Start HELPING people so you can get more exposure. If you are using the Internet to make money or provide your off line business a shot in the arm it is imperative you do not turn off people by being an overbearing salesperson.

4. SPREAD the right links to everyone. It is a lot easier to provide a link to a social network you belong to. A lot of people are already members and they use these networks consistently to connect with family and friends. Your blog and website links should be on your profile at the networks so it is not necessary to give it to people unless they ask for it.

Geographic flexibility is one of the greatest advantages of Internet marketing. Here the user can manage their website by sitting anywhere in the world without having time and place boundaries. Customers use the internet for buying products and services online that seems reliable and offer value for their money.

Today, the online competition is neck deep to get an profit share. No website can exist without making use of marketing techniques. If done properly, it could become a money making tool.

Be clear about the tasks that you want to achieve, do you want to give information, provide services or sell products, etc have to be made clear. It may also include decisions regarding creation of online community, the budget planning for online marketing, clear goals and budget makes the end result more practical and profitable.

If compared with other medium of marketing like TV, radio, newspaper, other forms of print media, etc, online marketing is extremely easy and effective way for product/service promotion. Article marketing, forum posting, e-book writing and blog marketing are tools of internet marketing aimed at different segments of customers. It can attract more people to your website, increase customers for your business, and enhance branding of your company and products.

Online classified advertisements are an important tool for online marketing, giving the chance to display your company’s ad with attractive image and punch lines. Sometimes a company employs there own standards of online marketing and sometimes takes help from an outside source.

The problem mainly occurs for people who are new to this concept and don’t have knowledge about where to start it from. Online advertising can be done at many places and in diverse budgets also. For new websites option of free advertising methodologies also work. Online marketing has mass appeal giving its user the liberty to use right methods to cover the gaps between your company and the target audience. You can hire internet marketing professionals for framing out right kind of marketing techniques that suits your business and its goals.

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Some of the most effective web marketing techniques currently available are affiliate marketing, email marketing, article marketing, niche marketing, forum marketing and search engine optimization. Let’s have a detailed look at these techniques.

Affiliate marketing is leveraging the time of others to help advertise your product or service. The affiliates will go and find the market for your products. For this work, you have to share a percentage of the gross proceeds generated from the sale of your product. Most companies using this marketing method pay 25 to 75 percent of the profit to their affiliates. This method can reap the greatest amount of traffic while limiting the amount of net profit for the website.

Email marketing is a method used that capitalizes on a list of people that have signed up to receive special marketing information. The most effective email marketing lists are those where the members have agreed twice to be added to a particular list. This is also referred to as a double opt-in email list. Once the members are added to the list they receive the marketing information and decide if they want to purchase a particular product or service by clicking on a website link within the email.

Another marketing method is article marketing. This method can reach your customers within a timeline of some two or three days and remains on the internet indefinitely. This is considered superior to all the other marketing methods because this technique can be performed without spending any money. By expending a little creative energy, you can establish yourself as an authority on a particular subject matter. By putting a link to your website with the article you can drive targeted traffic to your website by spending no money and a little of your time. These articles with the link to your website provide the greatest benefit to your website advertising efforts due to the low cost and longevity of the link to your website.

Niche marketing refers to specializing in a small product category with a narrow focus. Specific examples of niche marketing include custom cat collars, designer jogging suits or herbal remedies that alleviate gout. These markets are small, focused and can be quite lucrative. However, by focusing on a single product group with a narrow focus can also limit the amount of money you can make because of the limited amount of interest in that particular category.

Another marketing technique is the blog or forum marketing. With this technique, it is easy to promote a single product. Blogs are shorter than articles and maintain establish a conversation on a particular subject. You can use blogs to promote several products by establishing a different blog for each product. Search engines are trying to stay on top of all the newest advertising methods and therefore are focusing more attention on blogs and sites that have a rapidly changing content. This new focus is giving blogs an advantage in their page ranking in the search engines.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is an advertising method that can be used with any website. You can use SEO for almost all of the marketing techniques mentioned earlier. When optimizing your website, article, niche and blog you choose a list of keywords used to highlight your particular topic. Once you have the list of keywords, you need to use those keywords throughout the content of your website, article, niche or blog. The search engines will find your list of keywords and discover that the list agrees with your content. This results in your website rating higher within the search results for all of the keywords in your list.

This is just a small list of the marketing techniques currently being used to advertise web content. By taking advantage of the most current marketing methods you can drive traffic to your website and increase your revenue.

Okay, step one. Do your keyword research. Make sure the keywords you’re using are targeted to people who are actually buyers. For example, let’s say you’re selling a natural acne cure. Using the keyword acne is stupid. Why? Because you don’t know what that person is looking for. They could be simply looking for a definition of acne. But if you use a keyword phrase like “natural acne cure” or “natural acne treatment” you can bet that these people are looking for ways to treat their acne. Oh, and stay away from the word free. These people are looking for free solutions.

Step two is writing your ad. Look, you only get three lines here so you have to make them count. The best way to do this is by making each line serve a specific function. Let’s take the example above. Since you’re advertising a natural acne cure or treatment, that’s what your first line should be, the actual phrase. So you would start with “Natural Acne Cure” or “Natural Acne Treatment”. Then you want to point out the main benefit such as “Cures Your Acne In 3 Days”. Then you want your call to action or guarantee. Either one will work. Short, to the point and tells the prospect what he needs to know.

Finally, there is your daily budget. You want to start off small to see if your campaign is going to be profitable. Once you see that the campaign is converting at a decent percentage, then you can begin to increase your daily budget.

Naturally, there are other things such as cost per click and demographics, but for the most part, pay per click advertising is not hard. At least it’s not nearly as hard as people make it out to be.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim